Pocahontas

Pocahontas Lesson Plan

Central Historical Question:
Did Pocahontas save John Smiths life?

Materials:
Walt Disneys Pocahontas Movie (segment where Pocahontas saves
John Smith)**
Copies of Pocahontas Timeline
Copies Pocahontas Documents A and B
Copies of Historian Interpretations A and B
Copies of Pocahontas Worksheets

**[Note: Teacher must supply this resource.]

Plan of Instruction:

1. Today we are going to talk about a topic in history that youve probably all
heard about. What do you know about Pocahontas?

Write student answers on the board.

Ask students: How do you know what you know about Pocahontas? (Some
students will inevitably say the Disney movie).

Focus on one question: Did Pocahontas save John Smiths life?

2. Play movie clip.

Ask students: So, do you believe the movie? Is this what actually
happened between Pocahontas and John Smith? We should
probably look at the primary sources.

Review important background information, (i.e., English arrive in
1607, land in Jamestown, John Smith is taken prisoner by
Powhatan tribe).

3. Hand out Timeline, John Smith Documents A & B, and John Smith
Documents Worksheet. Have students complete in groups.

4. Debrief: Why would John Smith write two different accounts? Do students
believe that Pocahontas saved his life or not?

5. Review students claims/ hypotheses.




Pocahontas
6. Explain the difference between primary and secondary sources. Hand out
Historian Interpretations A and B and Historian Interpretation Worksheet.
Student complete worksheet in groups.

7. Debrief:
Which historian did students find more convincing? Why?
What evidence did both historians use to support their argument?
Could there be a third interpretation?
What did the movie get right and what did it get wrong? Why would
Disney choose to make the movie that way?

8. Summary: Our Pocahontas activity was just like the lunchroom fight activity
and Snapshot Autobiography. In both cases, we needed to ask How do we
know what we know? Whats the evidence?

In history, most of the evidence is written in documents. When we read those
documents, we have to ask certain questions:

Who wrote the document?
Why did they write it?
What else was going on at the time?
Do other sources agree or disagree with this account?



Citations:

John Smith, A True Relation of such occurrences and accidents of note as hath
happened in Virginia Since the First Planting of that Colony, 1608.
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/jamestown-browsemod?id=J1007

John Smith, General History of Virginia, New England and the Summer Isles, 1624.
http://docsouth.unc.edu/southlit/smith/smith.html

Paul Lewis, The Great Rogue: A Biography of Captain John Smith,1966, (172-173).

J.A. Leo Lemay, The American Dream of Captain John Smith, 1991.











Copyright 2009, Avishag Reisman and Bradley Fogo.



Pocahontas
Document A: True Relation (Modified)


Arriving in Werowocomoco, the emperor
welcomed me with good words and great
platters of food. He promised me his friendship
and my freedom within four days. . . .He asked
me why we came and why we went further with
our boat. . . . He promised to give me what I
wanted and to feed us if we made him hatchets
and copper. I promised to do this. And so, with
all this kindness, he sent me home.

Source: Smiths own words, from A True Relation of such
occurrences and accidents of note as hath happened in Virginia
Since the First Planting of that Colony, published in 1608.



Pocahontas
Document B: General History (Modified)



They brought me to Meronocomoco, where I
saw Powhatan, their Emperor. Two great
stones were brought before Powhatan. Then I
was dragged by many hands, and they laid my
head on the stones, ready to beat out my brains.
Pocahontas, the Kings dearest daughter took
my head in her arms and laid down her own
upon it to save me from death. Then the
Emperor said I should live.

Two days later, Powhatan met me and said we
were friends. He told me to bring him two guns
and a grindstone and he would consider me his
son.

Source: From Smiths later version of the story in General History of
Virginia, New England and the Summer Isles, published in 1624.



Pocahontas
John Smith Documents Worksheet

Did Pocahontas save John Smiths life?

True Relation says
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

General History says
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

Why would Smith add on to his earlier story?



Why might Smith lie or exaggerate and invent new information?



Why wouldnt Smith lie about the story?



Pocahontas

Paul Lewis
Historian, Interpretation A (Modified)
Author, The Great Rogue: A Biography of Captain John Smith (1966)


In 1617, Pocahontas became a big media event in London.
She was a princess (daughter of king Powhatan), and the
first Indian woman to visit England. Because she converted
to Christianity, people high in the church, as well as the King
and Queen, paid attention to her.

While all this was going on, John Smith published a new
version of True Relation, adding footnotes that say that
Pocahontas threw herself on Smith to save him. Smith even
takes credit for introducing Pocahontas to the English
language and the Bible.

Then, in 1624, Smith expands his story in General History.
He adds details to the story, and says that Pocahontas
risked her life to save his. Why would a chief who had been
so friendly before, suddenly decide to kill John Smith?

Source: Excerpt from The Great Rogue: A Biography of Captain John Smith,
written by the historian Paul Lewis in 1966.



Pocahontas

J.A. Leo Lemay
Historian, Interpretation B (Modified)
Author, The American Dream of Captain John Smith (1991)


John Smith had no reason to lie. In all of his other writings
he is very accurate and observant. For 250 years after his
captivity, no one questioned his story.

The reason the two versions differ is that their purpose is
different. In A True Relation, Smith didnt want to brag about
his adventures, he wanted to inform readers about the land
and people of Virginia. In the General History, his goal was
to promote settlement in Virginia (and added stories might
get people interested).

There is no doubt the event happened. Smith may have
misunderstood what the whole thing meant. I think it was
probably a common ritual for the tribe, where a young
woman in the tribe pretends to save a newcomer as a way of
welcoming him into the tribe.


Source: Excerpt from The American Dream of Captain John Smith, written in
1991 by historian J.A. Leo Lemay.



Pocahontas
Historian Interpretation Worksheet

Did Pocahontas save John Smiths life?

Paul Lewis says
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

J.A. Leo Lemay says
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________

Which historian interpretation do you find more convincing?
Why?
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________